“ I was told that the maximum for Bernardo Silva was Paços de Ferreira”

“ Di have been told several times: ‘Jorge, forget it, you have no chance. Bernardo Silva will never be an important player’. The most it could achieve would be to play in a first or second division, at most in Paços de Ferreira ", he recalled.

The FIFA agent shared some stories of athletes with whom he worked during the ‘Leading the Game’ conference, held at the Catholic University in Porto, recovering the course, for example, of Bernardo Silva, to demonstrate how evaluations made during the training can fail.

Mendes said that even after the transfer of Benfica to Monaco, he had to intervene with the management of the French club to ensure the continuity of the medium.

“They didn’t want to be with him after the first year. I had to talk to the president. I had to convince him. I told him: “You’re making a mistake, because you’re a great player,” he said, considering that Bernardo Silva would prove to be one of the best averages in the world.

The entrepreneur argued that talent alone does not guarantee a successful career, attaching particular importance to professionalism, determination and ability to work.

“ If we compare one player with a lot of talent and another with less talent, but be a great professional and work with a lot of commitment and determination, this player will always go further ", sustained.

Another example presented was that of the former Portuguese international Deco, which Mendes discovered in a meeting between Espinho and Alverca and whose potential immediately considered superior to the competitive level in which he was.

“I spoke to Benfica and said that this player was completely different from everyone else, but they told me they were not interested,” he recalled.

Faced with the lack of interest of the ‘incarnates’, he took the medium to the Salgueiros and tried to convince Pinto da Costa to hire him to FC Porto, coming to prepare videos with plays of the footballer.

According to Mendes, Fernando Santos, then coach of the ‘dragons’, preferred Duda, from Boavista, but Pinto da Costa eventually chose Deco, who would become one of the figures of winning the Champions League in 2004.

“ For me, he was the best player in FC Porto history. He deserved to have won the Golden Ball in 2004”, he said.

The businessman also mentioned the case of João Félix when he was still playing in FC Porto, explaining how the transfer to Benfica happened.

“Benfica took an interest in his brother [Hugo Felix] and hired him. The father showed concern that João stayed at FC Porto and his brother went to Benfica and took João Felix almost please ", he revealed.

For Mendes, cases such as these show that there are footballers in the youth classes or in the secondary divisions with the ability to reach the highest level, but without access to the necessary opportunities.

“ We can find players with a lot of talent in the third or second division. The problem is that many times they don’t have someone who can give them a chance,” he said.

Jorge Mendes considered “that talent is very important, but that this alone is not enough”, pointing out other characteristics.

“ More than 80% of the players I transferred were not the most important players in their clubs.”.

The agent concluded that although monitoring is important, it is also up to the players to take responsibility and overcome the difficulties in achieving their potential.